Compare schools, search for scholarships or use their handy student loan calculator to estimate your monthly payments and evaluate other loan options. All this from NerdScholar, winner of the College Knowledge Challenge, a competitive grant initiative funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. NerdScholar was selected as one of 21 winning proposals. The program seeks to fund app development in support of college access and completion. The $2.5 million fund will be distributed among the winners to develop apps that ease the college application process for low-income and first generation college students. The Gates Foundation is committed to improving access to financial aid, and NerdScholar aims to support that effort with their new FAFSA Community application. The FAFSA Community will offer a support network for students and parents to facilitate completion of the FAFSA. This app, offered in web and mobile format, will leverage Facebook to create support networks and information feeds that serves up answers to questions in real-time. NerdScholar plans to launch the application later this year, “Too many families are leaving Federal funds on the table,” says Joseph Audette, VP of Education at NerdScholar, “The FAFSA Community will provide answers and support to the students and parents who need it most.” NerdScholar, a service of NerdWallet, provides web tools to empower students and parents to make better decisions about their higher education. There’s a small jackpot of cool tools — check out all the winners right here.